


A hymm of foxes

by A_Nobelmonster



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-17 12:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5869756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Nobelmonster/pseuds/A_Nobelmonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dance au ficlet that spiraled out of control. expect, dance competitions, lap dances and drama.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fate won't wait

**Author's Note:**

> pretty cannon but there will be minor tweaks. warnings and ratings will change as the story goes on.

one. two. three. four

this is muscle memory, he knows this, his left arm unfurls to a point gracefully with soft power. his thigh pushing him faster and faster to jump, a complex matrix of quick moments. turn. point. crouch.

this is what he’s practiced for until his palms bleed on the concrete and he couldn’t tell the dirt on his skin apart from the mottling of bruises. 

Here is Virginia State Dance Academy, Third most prestigious dance school in the tri-state. The ivy league of the dance world, and so close Neils fingers brushed against the bright seemingly intangible world before him. Just a little closer just a fraction and he would grip tight and never let go. 

the scuff of his sneakers bring him back to his body and this moment, the light of the auditorium cast a veil of gold over his eye’s. He can’t see past it but he knows like he knows the count of each movement that waiting out in the audience is Instructor Wymack, elite ex-company dancer Kevin Day and famed trouble child dance prodigy Andrew Minyard.

Out there is his future. the thought arrests his lungs his body moving on instinct trying to ease his lungs into a breath but how can he? how can he when 12,000 applicants try out for the school every year but only four hundred are chosen? how can he when one poorly executed turn could have him leaving his future behind? 

he shoves the thought down, locks it out of reach and focuses on the final steps. 

focus on something you love a teacher had told him once, the rest will come naturally.

so he focuses on the stretch of his muscles, the way his mother would smile at him on the rare occasion over a cup of gas station coffee before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, the weekend they spent on the edge on an abandoned apple grove eating fruit in the cool of spring,

Instructor Wymack is on the stage before he realizes from his position on the floor that both the music and his body have stopped like a spell ending or the stings of an old marionette doll snapping. His chest expands and contracts rapidly, it’s too warm, he can feel a drop of sweat roll down the curve of his spine as Kevin offers a hand to pull him up

He refuse opting to stare at the thin piece of wood in Andrews hands, the clipboard like gasoline to the fire of anxiety burning its way through him. Eventually he stands up thankful for the allowed reprieve, Wymack side eye’s the clipboard before pinning Neil with an intense stare. 

“you passed, your in , congratulations kid.”

Neil knows his expression is not particularly attractive the way he’s sputtering. 

“you know i messed up two turns back there? my timing was a beat behind too.”

Wymack quirks an eyebrow “yes, i was paying attention. what’s your point?”

“thats-that’s not the kind of performance that should get you into this school and not with an ex-company dancer. i can’t-”

why is he fighting so hard against this? why can’t he just let himself have his break, Neil realizes that he’s was as much terrified of a No and he was a Yes. no meant no future but a yes meant a future, it meant change and it meant wanting something for himself for the first time ever and it being a possibility. A possibility that at any time could get ripped away. It was so dangerous to want.

“Listen kid, your rough yeah but your dancing…it has passion, it means something to you and it showed. A lot of dancers even professionals, its like watching a dead fish.No passion just text book moves. Your just gonna have to work hard.”

As if thats not nearly as daunting as it sounds. Neil pushes the sweaty strands of his black fringe out of the way about to come up with a rebuttal even though his heart is begging him just shut up but the others are retreating already.

Andrew looks over his shoulder smiling, “you have two weeks to be ready.” the resounding clap of the auditorium doors echos his pounding heart.


	2. Bruised feet, tender hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> he loved every second of being here. 
> 
> he loved breaking in his dance flats as much as he loved walking into the studio first thing in the morning when the smell of floor polish was still fresh. he loved it with a fever that occasionally sent his heart racing, this was his, if he could hold on tightly enough this was his
> 
> which is all he had ever wanted. something that was his, dance felt it was that could be. 
> 
> Until the hand of fate drew Andrew Minyards name that afternoon. Every open door began closing, one name that controlled his success effectively choking the fluttering things that had taken up room in his heart.

“Listen up , the NDA in part with the North East Dance Company are holding the 25 annual Prix de Fonteyn Competition. It is a two round competition , the first round will be five months from now in April is completed with a partner, the second final part will be five months after that is a solo performance. Participation is mandatory-” Wymack doesn’t turn his head but he says “that means you Andrew. you have to participate too. the competition is good practice for you guys even if you don’t make it past the first round. The prize is a place in the company’s televised performance at that time, for others who make it to the final round positions in that company and others will be offered based on your performances.” 

it’s the longest Neil has heard wymack speak in the week he’s been there. Whats even more than a little disorienting is being here and having this opportunity. Hope beats like a many winged thing.

Funnier yet, this is the busiest he’s ever been , He’d kind of underestimated how much there would be to do here . Each student until junior years is required to take four dances classes and four traditional education classes. The available dance courses are Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Latin, interpretive and cultural which explores dances from other countries. After two years the students pick a specialty and focus on entering competitions and training for in-state company try-outs as a senior. 

but god he loved it. 

he loved every second of being here. 

he loved breaking in his dance flats as much as he loved walking into the studio first thing in the morning when the smell of floor polish was still fresh. he loved it with a fever that occasionally sent his heart racing, this was his, if he could hold on tightly enough this was his

which is all he had ever wanted. something that was his, dance felt it was that could be.   
Until the hand of fate drew Andrew Minyards name that afternoon. Every open door began closing, one name that controlled his success effectively choking the fluttering things that had taken up room in his heart. 

Andrew Minyard

Infamous Andrew Minyard . Dance prodigy with an eidetic memory. Who turned down the top dance school in the nation to come to it’s third best. Who is known for his in juvenile detention stint , getting in trouble with the law and not working well with others. 

Honestly, the only thing Neil could think of that would be more cruel would be his father finding him. 

His mind dims in disarray. Like a tropical storm taking root in the space of his skull. 

“Josten , go again. Straighten your back” not matter what he does , no matter how he pushes himself he cannot find the rhythm that usually comes so easily. 

“Josten are you paying attention?” He’s trying. He is so much but it's to no avail. 

“Jo- just sit. Sit down if you can’t pay attention.” Kevin sends him a look that could raize and salt crops. Instructor Wymack sighed but did nothing to admonish Kevins harsh command maybe he was regretting his decision to take Neil now. 

By this point half the group was starring , glaringly unimpressed with Neil while they had to repeat the exercise for the forth time. One senior, Seth Gordon whose specialty was Jazz took a moment to flip Neil off before executing a flawless lift with his partner (and girlfriend? He wasn’t exactly sure) Allison Reynolds.   
His own partner is sprawled listlessly against a chair beside him on the floor. 

“I don’t think i want such a useless partner.” Andrew say’s it like he’s talking about the the weather rather than a crucial event in both their lives. 

“I’ll do better next time” the syllables tumble in his mouth like rocks in a river. It hurts to spit them out, it hurts to admit that he is doing so poorly. 

Andrew assesses him briefly “why? For the competition? “ he smiles something wicked “you don’t have a chance. There is no point killing yourself over it.”

Neil refuses to drink the poison “Don’t you like dancing? Don’t you want to do well?” His partner yawns and flexes his dance flats. It’s an obvious show to reiterate that he doesn’t care about any of that.

“Oh no you sound just like Kevin. You would be perfect for eachother you know? Both obsessed idiots. “ Neil resist the urge to punch him. The only thing stronger than his growing annoyance is his determination to stay at the school for as long as possible. Andrew lets his barely restrained emotions fester for a moment. 

“Lets make a deal, you go to the club with us this weekend and i will consider doing this stupid competition. “ It sounds asinine. Going out in exchange for a promise of Andrews co-operations? There's a subtext that makes Neil more than weary. 

Like when he would come after school and his dad would be fixing the door or reading. It was too calm, too easy. It was false. Neil didn’t think Andrew would suddenly snap and beat him for leaving his muddy shoes on the carpet but Andrew still felt dangerous. Maybe even more so.

There was little room for argument with Andrews tone but Neil would still try to level the footing. “If i go with you then you do the competition seriously, at least the first round. I don’t care if you do the rest.”

Andrew is staring like he can see right through his contacts at the scared boy who is willing do what it takes to stay here, dancing and as far away from his father as possible.

“Yeah, sure .why not-” the low chronically tired voice of Wymack cuts him off. 

“Ok, individual practice. Andrew! What are you still doing here? Get a move on.” Wymack is most likely talking about Andrews court mandated community service. Dan had told Neil his first week that every Wednesday Andrew had counseling with their sports psychologist ‘Bee’ and then volunteered at an at risk youth center teaching dance. He briefly wondered if it was smart to put children around Andrew. 

There was a tone of finality in Neils future as he watch Andrew and Nicky head out of the studio. For now those doors Neil had been painfully watching close on his future had stopped but a new problem had arisen.

For whatever reason Andrew was taking him out this weekend most likely as a test but what the specific parameters of this test were he couldn’t be certain. The only certainty was that if it didn’t go well then he would have less than a chance winning the competition. 

He could always do what the seniors usually did , which was try out at the end of senior year and go to a small but comfortable company to dance with but it would never be the same. It would never compare to the current opportunity. Andrew was dance genius and if he had that, well, he would at least have a fighting chance. 

Nervous wandering fingers picked at the thread of his new tights the school had given him when he first arrived until Dan came over. “Listen, Kevin is just…..a perfectionist. He doesn’t understand that people have off days.’ 

She motioned for him to follow her to the bar where she began stretching to cool down, they still had ten minutes of class left. He wanted to practice followed her. 

“Speaking of difficult. Andrew, if he gets to much just tell me ok? He can be overwhelming.” Matt say’s coming over to stand by Dan not even making the effort to pretend he’s doing something. 

Neil already knew that there was clear divide in the classes. There was Andrew & Aaron Minyard, Nicky Hemmick and Kevin day and then there was the rest of the school. No one made it a secret that they didn’t like the Andrews group. 

After partners had been chosen he had received several pitying glances.

“I’m fine , thanks.” He didn’t plan on letting himself be put in a position where he would need help. Never again. He would dance and do this competition by himself,  
and it would be ok. 

he would be fine like always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh gosh. haha i have been really slacking on this fic. i have stuff written but i never finish the chapter. This is half filler half important. it's a bit dull but next chapter should be fun cause im a sucker for dance-off's. 
> 
> extra info: the fox characters dance specialties are  
> Jazz- seth  
> Interpretative- Allison  
> Modern/Hip-hop - Matt, Renee, Dan  
> Ballet- Aaron, Nicky, Kevin  
> (both Andrew and Neil grew up with hip-hop but have taken on Ballet at the school)


End file.
